Ferdinand Lucas Bauer (1760 – 1826)

An Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia. He was one of six scientists selected by Sir Joseph Banks to accompany Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia. He worked under the direction of botanist Robert Brown, and in addition to botany, Bauer was to draw zoological subjects. His exacting standard of work earned him the admiration of both Matthew Flinders and Robert Brown. Bauer, intent on capturing accurately the tone and shading of his specimens, but unable to carry with him the range of colours needed, covered his preliminary sketches with colour numbers. All of the available evidence suggests that the first Europeans to discover Cephalotus follicularis were Ferdinand Bauer and landscape artist William Westall on the 1st of January 1802.

Bauer returned to England on the Investigator, accompanied by 11 cases of drawings containing 1,542 Australian plants, 180 Norfolk Island plants, and over 300 animals. His work has lasting important because of his craftsmanship, aesthetic sense and scientific accuracy. Bauer was the first to accurately capture Cephalotus follicularis, Drosera binata var. dichotoma and Drosera pygmaea.

For more information on the life of Ferdinand Lucas Bauer please see Wikipedia.

The ICPS claims no copyright on the content of this page. Please see the list of sources used for the pages on key historical figures in the study of carnivorous plants.

Drosera binata var. dichotoma by Ferdinand Bauer

Cephalotus follicularis by Ferdinand Bauer